One of the spin-offs of Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad book was a game, Cashflow. It comes in two installments, Cashflow 101 and Cashflow 202. It is a game that seeks to test your financial IQ. The challenge is to get out of the "Rat Race" and into the "Fast Lane," using the opportunities you will be given.
There are three versions of the game: a board game, an e-game (Cashflow 101's e-game CDs come with the board game) and an online game. All versions have the same objective, and all are played similarly.
The Game: The game starts off with you drawing a Career card, which would determine what career you'll be working with in the game. In the software version, you will be assigned a career randomly.
The game consists of two parts: the Rat Race and the Fast Lane. The Rat Race is dealing with your debt, building your investments and income, in order to get to the Fast Lane. When you hit a certain amount in passive income and a certain amount in your Cash On Hand, you'll be upgraded to the Fast Lane.
You'll roll the dice to land on different aspects of the game:
- Payday
- Opportunity
- Market
- Doodad
- Charity
- Baby
- Downsized
Payday, is, of course, getting your income. It is pre-set according to your career. Your expenses, loans and debts are also set. Each time you get pay from your Payday, your Cash On Hand grows. When it reaches certain amounts, you can pay down your loans.
An Opportunity is exactly that: an opportunity for you to acquire assets. These could be in the form of stocks/mutual funds/equities, or it could be in the form of real estate. In Cash Flow 101, there are two choices: Small Deal and Big Deal. You can find the paper investments in the Small Deal option, along with small-time real estate and opportunities to buy non-earning companies. Big Deal items come in the form of big business franchises and higher-income real estate properties.
When you land on a Market square, you are given an opportunity to liquidate your assets. If you don't have the item the buyers require, then you don't get to take advantage of landing on the square.
A Doodad is an unnecessary expense. From lottery tickets to a flat screen TV to one of your children getting married, this is expense that you can never get back or make useful.
Landing on a Charity square gives you the option to donate 10% of all your income for the chance to roll two dice. You may pass on giving to Charity.
The next installment of how to play the game is on the next post.
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